Low-interest loans available for farms and food businesses

Oct 27, 2025

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity is offering low-interest financing to help farms and food businesses grow. The program provides loans up to $1.5 million with interest rates 3-4% and terms up to 40 years for real estate-secured loans.

Eligible applicants include farmers, co-ops, food hubs, associations, nonprofits and manufacturers, with 10 farmers already assisted through the lending of a total of $4 million over the past two months. There are more than 15 loan options, including microloans and aquaculture-specific financing, plus coordination with lenders statewide to expand access to capital.

Farm Loan Administrator Richard “Buddy” Nichols encourages anyone producing local food to explore their options. “Depending on the business, we likely have a program to match your needs,” he said. “We’re not here to fit the farm to the program but the program to the farm so we can produce more food. Our goal is to double our food supply.”

With an estimated 85% of Hawai‘i’s food imported, accessible financing is critical to uplift local food producers. Recent legislative updates have strengthened agricultural loan terms, providing flexibility when natural disasters strike. Nichols notes a recent success bringing five lenders together to help a nonprofit secure funding to become more self-sufficient as grants declined.

Nichols suggests applicants start by looking at the Agricultural Loan Division’s website for guidance on business plans and financing pathways. “Everyone is working together now to help farmers get the capital they need,” Nichols said. “We start with free capital and then expand into low-interest capital.”

Contact: Richard “Buddy” Nichols, (720) 810-6358, buddynicolsfarm@gmail.com